No coach at GT can flip a switch and recruit like a factory. Our problems are not specific to CPJ.
GT will never recruit like a factory. The best we've done in the past 2 decades was a top 15 class (that was later retrospectively ranked in the top 5). That said, and I've written about this MANY times, it is realistic for GT to recruit 3-5 elite guys (possibly on both sides of the ball) in fill in with foundation type players like Jeune, Kenny Cooper, Will Bryan, AJ Gray, Adam Gotsis, etc. 3-5 elite guys a year isn't unrealistic. In fact, the defense has been doing exactly that the past few recruiting classes.
IMO, offensive recruiting (and defensive recruiting to an extent...which I'll touch on later) ARE specific to CPJ. Let's get this out of the way, our offense hasn't been a performance issue for the most part against teams that recruit in the same 1-2 bands (or tiers) as us. The NC States, Dukes, Wake Forests, Vanderbilts, UVAs, Pitss, etc. Offensive performance dips against teams that recruit at the highest bands (top 20 recruiting teams) like UGA, Clemson, VT, Miami, etc. CPJ will be the first to tell you that physical superiority will beat theory almost every time. Every few years, GT will have a team with a few NFL type offensive players and an experienced team that has the capability of beating those teams that recruit at the highest bands (see 2009, 2014, even 2016). The question is, has our fan base lost patience in waiting every 3-4 years for a special type season when everything falls into place?
Our offense is a zero sum proposition, IMO. That is, what gains we get by schematic advantage is somewhat given up in the sacrifice of losing out on high level offensive recruits who don't want to play in this offense. Whether you want to believe this or not, and from HS coaches I know, defensive recruiting is effected by our offense as well, though not to the extent that the offense is. There are some defensive recruits that want nothing to do with GT because they know they will have to practice against this offense and everything that goes with it. You know how teams complain about playing us 1 week of every year? Well, our team gets negatively recruited against because our defense does have to practice against our offense (see Spring Practice, Scrimmages, countless practices) which is more than they will have to at other schools. On top of that, our scout team offensive players do not have the skillset that other teams do...which means our defensive players aren't challenged in practice like they would be at other schools. Other teams have good passers and skill players getting redshirted on the scout team to sharpen the skills of defensive players. GT has running QBs, ABs acting like slot guys, and not the heaviest recruited WRs on our scout team. This is a very real perception that's being used against us in recruiting.
For those of you that follow recruiting, you'll know that the state of GA has been exploded in terms of quality and depth of recruits in the last 10 years. GA has been developing elite QBs, WRS, RBs, and OLs at a phenomenal pace. Unfortunately, GT hasn't been able to capitalize on it because those elite recruits don't want to play in this offense. That is no longer a debate. At one time, GT was able to pull elite skill guys not only from GA, but from around the southeast (Quincy Carter, top 5 dual threat QB; Donnie Davis, probably the top dual threat QB his year, #2 QB overall; Demarius Bilbo, a top 10-15 dual threat QB; Calvin Johnson, enough said, Derrick Steagall on of the elite athletes in his class; Joe Burns, #2 RB in GA that year...there are many others, and others can chime in). I don't think academics is an excuse in getting 3-5 elite guys on offense when the defense is able to do it. Like it or not, elite guys want to play in a system that will get them to the next level, and the perception is GT offense makes it a challenge to do it.
There's a cumulative effect in getting those 3-5 elite guys every year. Not only can you "miss" on some of them a year, but you're able to field more of them as the years go by. Right now, it sets us back a little when we miss out on recruits or they don't develop like we think they should. Some on here want to say there's not another system that takes advantage of GT's inability to recruit consistently like CPJ's, but Ralph Friedgen wasn't making hay with a team full of elite guys either. George Godsey had one of the weakest arms for a QB, and he wasn't highly recruited, but he put up some great numbers. Joe Hamilton was a 5'10 athlete that was coached up to a Heisman runner up QB. Our WRs weren't highly recruited, but many of them put of great numbers and started in the NFL.
CPJ's offense isn't THE problem per se, but it is a problem to certain extent. I like his offense, and I think it gives us a unique identity, but you have to live with the negative connotations and its limits in other areas.
